The data center fight in Fairfax County, Virginia
As of September 27, 2026, Fairfax County, Virginia has a data center moratorium in force (action taken Sep 10, 2024).
Status is derived, not stored — a pause with a documented end date flips to Expired on its own — and the source is right next to the claim.
Status today
Not a pause — a standing zoning ordinance amendment, adopted Sep 10, 2024 and effective Sep 11, that requires Board of Supervisors special-exception approval for nearly all new data centers (by-right only in I-5/I-6 industrial districts), 200-ft setbacks from residential lot lines (300 ft for backup generators), a one-mile buffer from Metro stations, full enclosure or screening of mechanical equipment, and pre- and post-construction noise studies. A companion substation amendment adopted Dec 9, 2025 (unanimous) adds 100-ft residential setbacks, 12-ft solid walls, a 50-ft planted buffer and a 55 dBA nighttime noise limit — but leaves substations by-right in industrial zones, which is why the Plaza 500 (Lincolnia) fight runs through a 2232 public-facility review rather than a rezoning. Applications pending on Sep 11, 2024 were grandfathered
SourceOfficial
read 2026-09-05
An expiry date is the earliest a pause could have ended — extensions are common, so confirm with the clerk before citing it.
The project on the table
Plaza 500 (Lincolnia) — Awaiting decision
Operator: Starwood Capital Group · Acres: 34
By-right data center on the 34-acre 6299 Edsall Road site; the required substation faces a Fairfax County Planning Commission Public Facilities (2232) review on Sept 24, 2026 amid organized opposition.
Next: Heard 2026-09-24; decision pending. Call the board clerk for the vote date and get on the notification list.
Latest in the record
- 2026-09-24 — Fairfax County Planning Commission Public Facilities (2232) review of the Edsall Road substation, 7 p.m. - the decisive vote residents can weigh in on. · source
- 2026-09-22 — The Mason District Land Use Committee is scheduled to decide whether to recommend the Edsall Road substation to the Planning Commission at 7:30 p.m. on Sept. 22. · source
- 2026-08-07 — Mason District Supervisor Andres Jimenez called on the Fairfax County Planning Commission to reject the proposed Edsall Road substation serving the Plaza 500 data center. · source
- 2026-08-06 — Alexandria Brief reported that Mason District Supervisor Andres Jimenez asked the Planning Commission to deny the Edsall substation, noting the proposed site is only 67 feet from homes — violating the county's 100-foot setback standard adopted in 2025. · source
- 2026-08-05 — ALXnow reported that Mayor Alyia Gaskins and the full Alexandria City Council submitted a letter to Fairfax County's Planning Commission requesting denial of the Edsall substation, citing incompatibility of heavy industrial use with residential areas and health risks from diesel generator emissions. · source
- 2026-08-04 — Rep. Don Beyer, Alexandria's mayor and city council, and residents pressed Fairfax County to deny the substation that would power the campus - proposed within ~100 ft of homes. · source
Full dated timeline on the project tracker.
Source. Read 2026-08-07.
Recent news
- Fairfax County civic group votes to oppose Plaza 500 data center, substation
- Power frequently going out at Fairfax County schools, superintendent says
- Residents grill Dominion Energy over Fairfax County data center proposal
Automated news aggregation, not human-verified — follow each link to the original outlet. Part of the story tracker, 3 headlines archived.
Where the decision gets made
Board of Supervisors — Zoning and land use in one of the country's largest data center markets. Residents have publicly questioned Dominion Energy over a specific data-center proposal's power needs.
Meets: Usually two Tuesdays per month.
Where: Board Auditorium, Fairfax County Government Center, 12000 Government Center Parkway, Fairfax, VA 22035
Public comment: Public hearings: register in advance with the Department of Clerk Services (703-324-3151) or at fairfaxcounty.gov/bosclerk/speakers-form; 3 minutes speaking on your own behalf, 5 for an organization. General public comment is heard after the last public hearing of the day — max 10 speakers, 3 minutes each, once per six months, and not on items already set for a public hearing. The Plaza 500 substation is a Planning Commission 2232 review (Sep 24, 2026, 7 p.m.), not a Board hearing — sign up with the Commission.
chairman@fairfaxcounty.gov · 703-324-3151 · website
Read from the official page on 2026-09-05. Meeting details change — confirm before you go.
Who votes on it
| Name | Role | Phone | Recorded stance | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Jeffrey C. McKay | Chairman | chairman@fairfaxcounty.gov | 703-324-2321 | not recorded |
| Kathy L. Smith | Vice Chairman | sully@fairfaxcounty.gov | 703-814-7100 | not recorded |
| Rachna Sizemore Heizer | Supervisor | braddock@fairfaxcounty.gov | 703-425-9300 | not recorded |
| James N. Bierman Jr. | Supervisor | dranesville@fairfaxcounty.gov | 703-356-0551 | not recorded |
| Rodney L. Lusk | Supervisor | franconia@fairfaxcounty.gov | 703-971-6262 | not recorded |
| Walter L. Alcorn | Supervisor | huntermill@fairfaxcounty.gov | 703-478-0283 | not recorded |
| Andres F. Jimenez | Supervisor | mason@fairfaxcounty.gov | 703-256-7717 | not recorded |
| Daniel G. Storck | Supervisor | mtvernon@fairfaxcounty.gov | 703-780-7518 | not recorded |
| Dalia A. Palchik | Supervisor | provdist@fairfaxcounty.gov | 703-560-6946 | not recorded |
| Pat Herrity | Supervisor | springfield@fairfaxcounty.gov | 703-451-8873 | not recorded |
From the locality's own roster page; "not recorded" means no public statement is on file, not neutrality.
What to do next
- Questions to ask at the hearing — force specific answers onto the record.
- Estimate the impact — electricity, water, and rate pressure for any facility size in Virginia.
- Model CBA clauses — copy-paste language communities have actually won.
- Virginia briefing — rates, grid carbon, PUC contacts, and every fight in the state.
Nearby in Virginia
- Loudoun County (24 mi) — Proposedterm not documented
- Stafford County (30 mi) — Enactedno end date — permanent
- Culpeper County (45 mi) — Enactedno end date — permanent
- Front Royal (48 mi) — Enactedexpires soon — 2026-10-04
- Spotsylvania County (49 mi) — Enactedno end date — permanent
- Fluvanna County (87 mi) — Expiredterm ran to 2026-01-31
- Virginia (2026 General Assembly package) (91 mi) — Enactedno end date — permanent
- Virginia (statewide pause request) (91 mi) — Rejectedterm not documented
All 14 tracked actions in Virginia are on the state page.
As of August 2026 · changes weekly — re-check before citing
Illustrative rather than exhaustive — dozens of localities churn weekly, and this tracks the ones we have read a source for. **Each row carries its own provenance.** Rows showing a verification date link to the ordinance, the enacting body's own page, or a datable report of the vote, and were read on that date. Rows marked *unverified* came from bulk compilation and have not been checked against a primary source — the locality, the year, and the status may all be off. Verify one of those with the town clerk before citing it as precedent. **Expiry is derived, not asserted.** A row with a documented end date flips to *Expired* on its own once that date passes. A time-limited moratorium whose start date was never documented keeps showing as enacted — that is a known gap, not a claim that it is still in force. Moratoriums are also routinely extended, so an expiry date is the earliest it could have ended, not proof that it did.
Part of the U.S. data center moratorium tracker — open data, CC BY 4.0.